Collisions and Neighbourhood Income: New research in Calgary

In 2016, 1691 pedestrians and cyclists were injured in collisions in Alberta, 3 of which were fatalities. Several North American cities have correlated pedestrian collisions with socio-economic factors such as income, age, gender and ethnicity, as well as with the quality of the built environment. We wanted to know if the same held true in Calgary. We commissioned a literature review and new GIS research to explore this with our partners in Toronto and Montreal.

Are we designing our cities for health equity?

Preliminary results tell us there is a correlation between collision frequency and nearby household incomes. Research is underway to explore additional contributing factors. Of particular interest is analysis of collisions as a rate of total pedestrians or of local population density. Research in other cities suggests that serious pedestrian collisions are more likely in areas that experience both lower incomes and lower pedestrian flows.